A carved wooden anthropomorphic image with stylized form and embellished with many old glass beads. In Cameroon , west Africa, when a young Fali man becomes betrothed, he makes a doll (ham pilu) from wood and decorates it with hair, beads, and other small objects. He then gives it to his fiancee, who wears it in a baby carrier on her back. The doll is a symbol of their marriage commitment and represents their future child. The man gives the doll the gender that he desires for his first-born. The young woman cares for the figure until the promised child is born; at this point, the couple carefully stores the doll away. The doll has been custom mounted to a display stand and measures 9.5 x 4 x 3.5 inches.

Good, well handled